


One Man's Trash

by Sierra_Echo



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Explicit Language, Fluff, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-23 04:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14926760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sierra_Echo/pseuds/Sierra_Echo
Summary: Hamilton and Jefferson are having yet another fight when they're distracted by something in the trash. Something that absolutely shouldn't be there.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, welcome to my first foray into fanfic writing. Excited to be here! This story is a little rough. It deals with animal abandonment/cruelty in some detail so please mind the tag for that. Sorry for the title, I know it's dark, but once it popped in my head I couldn't get anything else to uproot it. Also, warnings for this being un-beta'd. I ran it through Grammarly, so we should be fairly good, but feel free to point out any errors you find. Constructive critiques are love. Ok, that's all I got. Thanks for listening and enjoy guys!

It was a rare moment of quiet in the office. Most of the workers were managing to work quietly at their own desk. There was a soft _whirr-whirr_  from the corner where John was making photocopies. From the way Hercules' head was bobbing, he was jamming to his usual hard rock, but for once someone had managed to convince him to confine the noise to headphones. The little alert ding on Alexander's email resounded through the cubicles it was so quiet. He glanced up from where he'd been furiously highlighting the file for tomorrow's debrief. Wheeling over he scowled seeing the name on the 'from' column. Thomas Jefferson. _Goddamn it_ , Alexander thought. _And my day had been going so well too._  

He opened the email already in a foul mood that got worse as he read through. That pompous jackass, Jefferson, was ‘declining to lend his signature’ to Alexander’s bill. Even though he’d said that he would! Or at least, strongly implied it at the last staff meeting. Alexander scowled as he vaulted out of his chair, aimed at giving Jefferson a piece of his mind, loudly and with such force that the whole office would know what a complete and utter waste of space Jefferson was. What Alexander didn’t know was that as soon as he’d opened the email, Jefferson had started making long strides towards the elevator, intent on making a getaway before the yelling could start. Alexander only just caught a glimpse of that stupid purple coat before the elevator doors closed and Jefferson was safely away.

__Or so he thinks__  Alexander thought. The elevator wasn’t the only way down. He ran to the stairwell, threw the door open, ignoring the ****EMERGENCIES ONLY****  sign and rushed down the stairs. He made it to the lobby floor just as Jefferson was exiting the building, phone in hand and obviously thinking he was home free.

Not today. “Hey!” Alexander yelled as he pushed his way through the doors as well. “What the hell, Jefferson?”

Jefferson glanced over his shoulder but kept walking. “It’s after 6 on a Friday Hamilton. I’m going home. We can talk about whatever your issue is after the weekend.”

“Like hell we will. Where do you get off not signing my bill? You said you would!” Hamilton wasn’t bothering to keep his voice down, even though there was no longer any distance between the two men. Some other people on the street started to take interest in the fight and it was probably this more than anything that made Jefferson turn and face him.

“What is wrong with you?” he hissed. “I never said I would sign it outright. Does that sound remotely like something I would do? I said I would give it due consideration, which I did, and I’ve decided that I can’t support it.”

“What’s not to support? I’ve been working on it for ages. I’ve considered every angle. I even included that agricultural clause. Did you not see the agricultural clause?”

“Shut up, Hamilton,” Jefferson said, turning his head to the side.

Alexander swelled with indignation at the brush off and snapped back, “First of all-”

“No seriously, be quiet,” Jefferson waved a hand at him. “Do you hear that?”

“Uh, traffic?”

“No, its…” Jefferson trailed off, his head turning to locate the source of whatever it was he heard before focusing on the alley near the office building. “It’s coming from over there,” he said and started moving towards the alley entrance.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Alexander said grabbing for Jefferson’s arm, only to be brushed off. “What are you doing?” Jefferson was in the alley now, next to a small dumpster that was near enough to the main sidewalk to curb littering, but not so far down as to be lost in the shadows.

Alexander followed at a distance, a little hesitantly. “I know you’re from some middle-of-nowhere-countryside, but in the city? People don’t go exploring alleyways for fun.” He could hear the noise now too. A kind of scratching/scuffing noise that seemed to be coming from the dumpster itself.

Jefferson ignored this totally valid argument and continued to approach the dumpster, though he did seem cautious. The noise continued unchanged and Jefferson paused with one hand on the dumpster lid, took a deep breath as if for courage and then, in one swift motion, swung up the lid and peeked inside.

“Fuck!” he swore.

Alexander jumped at the expletive. “Oh my god, what is it? Is it rats? A body? Should I call-,”

“Hamilton, shut up and come give me a hand.” Jefferson was now reaching into the dumpster while still holding up the lid. As tall as he was, he couldn’t do both and reach very far into the dumpster. Alexander squared his shoulders and went to stand beside Jefferson, telling himself that even if he was a giant jerk, Jefferson wouldn’t fuck around with a crime scene or something like this just to pull one over on a co-worker. Probably.

He took control of the lid for Jefferson with one hand and got a quick glimpse of a small mass, brown and twitching before the other man boosted himself half over the dumpster’s ledge and reached inside. Alexander’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight. That purple coat might look ridiculous, but he had no doubt that it was expensive. He would never have expected Jefferson to let it come into contact with city trash like that.

His mouth dropped open further when Jefferson righted himself to reveal he had grabbed the mound or at least part of it. He thrust what he’d grabbed into Alexander’s free arm and dove back into the dumpster. Alexander looked down at what he was now holding in bafflement. It was alive that was for sure, he could feel movement against his arm, weak though it was. The thing was filthy, half covered in coffee grounds and a days-old banana peel, but Alexander could still make out a definite leg here, a tail there. It was a dog, a puppy. In the seconds it took Alexander to process this information, Jefferson fished another two out of the dumpster and started walking quickly back towards the sunlight of the street, saying, “Follow me, Hamilton. I know where there’s a vet’s near here.”

Alexander dropped the dumpster lid and had to half-jog to keep up with the taller man, struggling not to drop the puppy he carried. It was so small, but Alexander’s normally quick brain still couldn’t wrap itself around all that was happening. He didn’t realize Jefferson had led him down the block to where a sleek black car was parked. He was too focused on the barely there movements of the puppy to notice when Jefferson stopped next to the car. He almost ran into the other man. Were the movements getting weaker?

“Jefferson,” was all Alexander could get out, a not-fully-registered panic starting to rise within him.

Jefferson must have recognized that panic for what it was though cause he turned around, focusing on the puppy instantly. “Give him to me, he’s probably getting cold. You drive.” Then with faster movements than Alexander would have thought possible, he pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket and pressed the unlock button before passing them to Alexander and taking the puppy from him. He then bundled all three of them under his coat. They were so little that he was able to hold them in one arm while opening the passenger side door with the other. Any other circumstances would have had Alexander struck dumb by the act of his most hated colleague handing over the keys to his vehicle like that, but at this point, Alexander felt like he was acting purely on instinct.

He rushed around to the driver’s side and slid in. He started the car and Jefferson instantly reached over and cranked the heat all the way up. “Go down to Lexington and take a right. Then another right on Pacific and go 10 or 12 blocks,” Jefferson directed. “I think it’s on the left, it’s an old, brick house that’s been converted. Called Schuyler’s Animal Care, you’ll see it.” He then focused his attention on his lapful of puppies, rearranging his coat more thoroughly around them and seeming to trust Alexander with the navigation of his fancy car. Alexander decided now was not the time to point out that he just rode his bike to work. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d driven in fact…No time for that. Alexander shook off his doubts about driving and pulled out into traffic, going as fast as he dared to get the puppies to the care they so clearly needed.     


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The roads were fairly easy to navigate thankfully. Alexander didn’t think his brain could handle much more stress. He kept catching little movements in his peripheral vision from the vicinity of Jefferson’s lap and his heart clenched every time. How could something like this have happened? Better question, who could have done it? It’s not like the puppies’ mother could have climbed into the dumpster to give birth and then left them after. Someone put them there. Someone made the conscious decision to toss three little puppies literally out with the trash and left them there to die. Who knew how long they’d been there before he and Jefferson had found them, slowly starving, not understanding what was going on. Alexander wasn’t that familiar with dogs; how long could one survive without food or water? 

For once he was glad Jefferson was around. The man seemed to be handling the situation a lot more calmly than Alexander could manage. There were 3 puppies in his lap, getting hair and dirt all over the inside of his coat, but the guy wasn’t phased. He was half curled over them protectively and was murmuring words Alexander couldn’t make out. He would never have considered Jefferson to be an animal guy, but he supposed it made sense when he thought about. Did he have a dog of his own to know off the top of his head where the nearest clinic was? The guy had been raised on a farm or something, hadn’t he? He was definitely from the country on some level. Had to be with how dedicated he was to agriculture. 

The total time to the clinic was probably less than 10 minutes, but that still felt like way too much time. The puppies were moving, but only just. Alexander would have felt a lot better if they’d been rambunctious and wriggling all over the place the way the internet had shown puppies were supposed to look. The parking lot of the clinic was empty. So there should be someone available to see them right away and Alexander didn’t have to worry about hitting another car with his crappy parking ability. 

“Do you want me to take one of them back?” he asked as he turned off the car. A small corner of his brain noticed that in the years they’d known each other, this was probably the first time Alexander had offered assistance of any kind. 

But Jefferson shook his head. “No, I don’t want to juggle them around again. Just open the door for me would you?”

Alexander hopped out and hurried around the car to open the door. He tried to catch a glimpse of the puppies as Jefferson stood up, but the other man had them too snuggly wrapped. He opened the door to the clinic as well. 

“I can take it from here Hamilton,” Jefferson said. “Thanks for your help.”

Alexander looked over incredulously. “What are you talking about? Of course, I’m going to stay.”

Jefferson shifted uncomfortably. “Hamilton…Alexander, listen-” 

“Hi there! Can I help you?” There was a cheerful brunette standing behind the reception desk. 

Jefferson bit his lip, still looking uneasily at Alexander, but after a moment he turned towards the woman. “We have a bit of an emergency I’m afraid. Is Dr. Schuyler in? I know it’s late.”

“No worries,” the woman said. She picked up a phone on the desk. “What kind of emergency do we have?” She eyed the bundle in Jefferson’s arms.

“Abandoned puppies. I’m pretty sure they aren’t old enough to be weaned yet. The mother wasn’t around.”

“Been awhile since we’ve had one of those,” the woman said sadly. “Guess it couldn’t last forever though. One sec.” She dialed a number and spoke into the receiver. “Eliza? I have an emergency walk-in. I’ll get them set up in room 1 for you.” She set down the phone. “Come with me please.”

She led Jefferson and Alexander to a door across from the desk and held it open for them. “Go ahead and set the patients on the table. Dr. Schuyler will be with you in just a minute.” She shut the door behind her leaving the two men in near quiet. The puppies didn’t seem to be making any noise at all now.

“You aren’t going to put them on the table?” Alexander asked after a moment when Jefferson made no move to follow the directive from the receptionist. Jefferson blew out a gust of air and raised his eyes to the ceiling which seemed like an overreaction to Alexander, but before he could comment on it another woman walked in. The name tag on her lab coat proclaimed her to be Dr. Eliza Schuyler. 

“Good evening Thomas,” she greeted. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Peggy said it was urgent?”

“Yes, I found some puppies outside my office. I’m afraid it might be too late.” He spoke quietly, but Alexander still heard and he tensed at the words. 

Dr. Schuyler frowned but nodded. “Right, let’s get take a look at them and see what we’re dealing with.”

Jefferson walked to the table and gently laid the puppies on the gleaming surface. Alexander stayed glued to his side. He wanted to object to what Jefferson had just said, but for once he found himself unable to form words. He felt like he was drowning, trying to keep himself above water but unable to. The puppies definitely didn’t look good. They weren’t moving at all now, not even a subtle rise and fall of breathing. Distantly, Alexander realized that he made a strangled, choked off noise at the sight of the pitiful pile of fur, but he wasn’t able to hold it back. Normally he would have been horrified by his inability to keep it together around the other man, but Jefferson didn’t comment on it. Instead, he actually wrapped his arm around Alexander’s shoulders and pulled him in close. Alexander made another involuntary sound, this one more surprise than horror, but took advantage of the opportunity to hide his face in the taller man’s side in order to block out the scene in front of him. 

Dr. Schuyler made a sympathetic hum. “Why don’t you take him out to the waiting room and I’ll do what I can for these little guys.” She started to work, filling a syringe with something and turning to the side and giving them an illusion of privacy as Jefferson guided Alexander back into the waiting room for his seemingly unstoppable breakdown. They sat in two chairs side-by-side and Alexander sniffled and whenever he opened his eyes they felt hot and irritated so he kept them shut. Jefferson didn’t say a word, but he rubbed his hand up and down Alexander’s arm in a constant, soothing motion. 

Alexander had no idea how long they sat together like that, silent but eventually, Dr. Schuyler came out. She went first to the desk and spoke quietly with Peggy who got up and went to the examination room. Then Dr. Schuyler came over to them. She smiled, but Alexander could see regret on her face and his hand automatically gripped onto Jefferson’s knee as he braced himself for whatever news was coming. 

“I’m afraid I don’t have great news,” Dr. Schuyler said. “One of the pups is already gone and the other two still have a ways to go until I would consider them stable, but if they make it through the next 24 hours I think they have a good chance.” Alexander sniffles some more at the words and Dr. Schuyler looked at him kindly. “I know this isn’t an ideal outcome, but I want you to know that this wasn’t caused by anything you did. They’ve clearly been on their own for a considerable time and by the time you found them there’s only so much that can be done.”

Alexander knows he’s an ugly crier. His face gets blotchy and he’s suddenly producing a ridiculous amount of snot. It’s going to end up on Jefferson’s coat, he just knows it. It’ll have to be taken to the dry cleaners anyway, what with all the dirt and muck from the day’s adventures. Jefferson gives his shoulder one more squeeze before standing up. “Right, thank you, Doctor. I know you did all you could. I’ll take care of any medical expenses of course.”

He sounds so formal and put together. How can that be? Doesn’t he understand what’s happened? Jefferson walks away with Dr. Schuyler to the desk leaving Alexander alone with his thoughts. Not for long though. In just a few minutes he’s back and leading Alexander out the front door with a hand on his elbow when Alexander didn’t move of his own volition. 

“Wait,” Alexander said. “We can’t just leave them.”

“We can’t stay,” Jefferson replied. “Technically the clinic closed almost an hour ago.”

“No, wait,” Alexander said forcefully. He stopped walking and pulled his arm from Jefferson’s grip. “Those puppies have already been abandoned once. We- I can’t let them be left alone again.”

Jefferson turned to look at him and Alexander thought they were going to have another one of their famous standoffs here in the parking lot, but Jefferson spoke quietly. “They aren’t being left alone, Alexander. They’ll be well looked after here. If anyone can bring them around, it’ll be Dr. Schuyler. She’s one of the best veterinarians I’ve ever met. And it’s only for the night, we can come check on them tomorrow.”

Alexander looked back at the clinic anxiously. “This really is a good place?”

“Of course, I only work with the best after all.”

That did sound like Jefferson. “And we can come back tomorrow?”

Jefferson nodded. “Yes, I’ll drive us both over again if you want.”

Alexander nodded. “And what if,” he took a deep breath. “What if they don’t make it?”

Jefferson didn’t respond right away. “Dr. Schuyler has my number,” he said eventually. “She’ll get in touch if there are any complications. And I will keep you updated as well.”

Alexander took a deep breath. He still felt he was surrounded by water, but maybe he was treading steadily now. “That would be good, thank you,” he said.

“Do you need a ride somewhere?” Jefferson offered. 

“The 45th station would be good.”

“Right,” Jefferson nodded decidedly. 

They got into the car, Jefferson driving this time, and pulled out of the clinic’s parking lot. Alexander watched the passing buildings, not really feeling up to small talk. He thought the silence wasn’t too awkward, but maybe Jefferson thought differently because he only let it last for a couple minutes before breaking it. “Are you alright Hamilton? I know this has been unpleasant, but I confess I’m…surprised with how hard you’ve taken it.”

Alexander frowned. “You’re surprised I’m upset about a puppy dying in front of me? How cold-hearted do you think I am? Why aren’t you more upset?”

“It’s not that I’m not upset, of course I am. But I know we did everything we could for them. It’s like Dr. Schuyler said, we just found them too late. It’s sad, but you seem to take it almost personally.”

Alexander was silent a moment, wondering how much to open up about this topic. He finally settled on the truth, or at least pretty close to it. “You know I was in the foster system for a while?”  
“Yes,” Jefferson simply said. He didn’t add that pretty much everyone knew that. A lot of Alexander’s work involved trying to improve foster care bit by bit and he’d used his personal experience as an example to further the cause. 

“Well, I think that might have something to do with me taking this personal as you say,” Alexander said. “Those puppies must have been so scared and foster care can be very scary. They thought that no one wanted them. The one died thinking no one wanted him.” He stopped talking, his eyes starting to feel hot and itchy again.

Jefferson reached over and grabbed his hand. “No, that’s not true. They were all alive when we pulled them out of the dumpster. He died feeling warm and held close.” 

Alexander swallowed. “That- that helps a lot actually,” he said, staring at their clasped hands. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Jefferson said, letting go. “Here’s your stop.”

“Oh, right.” Sure enough, they were outside the train station. “Thanks. I’ll, um, see you tomorrow, I guess.”

Jefferson didn’t say anything but watched Alexander climb out of the car and down the station steps with dark eyes.


End file.
